The Secrets Among Us
by Xx.TheLostWriter.xX
Summary: Percy Jackson is sent to a boarding school in Florida. He thinks it's just a normal high school but is shocked to find out what the school's intentions are and what other people are planning. With the help of his friends, he's going to have to figure out how to make it through alive just to go into battle with something worse.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N- Hey guys, so this is my first fanfiction and I'm really excited about it and a little nervous. I got this idea from a book I read and a TV show so I thought that I'd make a story about it because it just kept nagging me in the back of my head. I really hope you guys like it and I am open to constructive criticism so thank-you if you're reading this and please, please, please review! But if you seriously don't like it tell me if you're not interested or what I could do to improve the story.**

**All characters belong to Rick Riordan.**

**^.^.^.^.^**

_When she was just a girl, she expected the world, but it flew away from her reach so she ran away in her sleep. Dreamed of para-para-paradise, para-para-paradise, para-para-paradise. Every time she closed her eyes._

_^.^.^.^.^_

I stepped into the cozy office of my new school at Goode Prep. The office was actually a pretty good size but the ceilings were so low that I could touch them with my hands which gave the room a small illusion. The receptionist was at the desk and her expression showed that she was beyond annoyed. With the way she was holding her pen, I was afraid she might want to stab me the moment I reached the counter. Oh well, let's hope not.

I stood in front of her for a few seconds, waiting for her to notice me but that didn't happen until I cleared my throat for the fourth time. The receptionist glared at me and snapped a response "Name?"

_Hello to you too. _"Perceus Jackson." I replied secretly hoping that she'd offer a box of my Mom's blue chocolate chips cookies and a smile. Oh jeez, it hasn't even been a day and I already miss my Mom.

Mom had me go to Goode Prep because I got kicked out of every other school. I hate putting all that stuff on my Mom so I docilely transferred schools again in an attempt to make her life easier, but I felt better about Paul being there to take care of her while I'm at Goode.

I tried to convince her to let me go to a school near home but she insisted on Goode Prep for some reason. She said something about how Goode had _wanted_ me to go and how they were offering such great things just for me to attend; I didn't believe her until she showed me the letter she received in the mail. Mom also happened to mention how my Dad attended Goode too. Although she never talked about him, I knew she once mentioned that they met at their old high school. I didn't object when she brought the idea up in order to make her happy.

There was a slam on the counter which brought me back to the current situation. I stared at the tabletop and saw a large orange envelope where people put official documents in. I waited for instructions but by the time I knew she wasn't going to explain anything without me asking, there was already a line of people waiting behind me, but they'd have to wait a little longer.

"What's in here?" I held up the envelope to show her what I was referring to.

The lady rolled her eyes and sighed as if I was a little first grader who needed help tying their shoes for the umpteenth time. "Your schedule, dorm room key, map, rules, and other stuff." I was tempted to pry for more answers but I kept hearing the office door open and close. I figured that the place must be pretty packed so I decided to leave instead.

The moment I left the office, I felt a crowd of people burst past me in various directions and some people actually shoved me out of the way to get into the office. _Well you're not going to find any help in there._

I worked my way out of the first building and ended up outside. According to the map the second building is where all the dorms were and it was supposed to be right across from the school.

Across from where I was standing was a large brick building with five floors. Even though it was made of brick the builders managed to not give it a prison feel, but the opposite. The perimeter was wrapped with various colored flowers and behind the building was a very large pool that looked like it could fit about fifty people. From what I was used to, it looked very luxurious.

My Mom never had tons of money but she supported us as best as she could and I was grateful for that. But I've only heard about the iPads and Wii's, my luxury was McDonalds on a Friday.

When I stepped into the building, there were only a few people hanging around, everyone was probably already in their rooms. It didn't take me long to find my room since I knew which floor it was on (okay, so maybe I peeked in the orange envelope) so I just went to the fourth floor and searched for room #437.

When I opened the door, the first thing I noticed was the two black colored wood desks with HP laptops on top. My jaw dropped, they gave us computers? It was hard to believe but I doubt I was hallucinating. They were placed right beside each other against the wall right across from… one bunk bed.

Considering they could afford the computers, I didn't know why they wouldn't have separate beds but I guess it could've been worse. I didn't exactly mind, as long as I was the top bunk. The beds were placed on the farthest back wall sideways, giving the room a spacious feel. Both comforters were green and blue but the walls were plain white. There was only one big closet (with suitcases next to them, I didn't recognize one set so I assume it was from my roommate) with two black dressers inside instead of the usual racks.

Although everything was _very_ nice, my favorite piece was the small (in height but wide in length) brown couch set in front of a huge plasma screen TV accompanied with speakers, a DVD player, and an Xbox. In the right corner, opposite of the bed was a massive bookshelf with nothing on it. Next to it was a very large window that gave bright light to the room. From the view of the window, I was able to see the pool which was sparkling blue and very large. No one was out but I suddenly felt an urge to go swimming. I immediately fell in love with the view. The room was like something I had only ever dreamed of owning.

"Knock, knock." Someone said from behind me. I turned to see a guy with curly brown hair, wide brown eyes, and acne covered skin.

He was grinning while he entered, appreciating our room "Hey, man." I said as his eyes were finished roaming.

"Hi, I'm Grover." He offered me a fist bump, which I took.

"Percy. Pretty cool space right?" It was much more than cool but he knew what I meant.

Grover shrugged "It's nice but last year they had a mini-fridge instead of a shelf, I guess we could get that installed, though."

Apparently I forgot to add something "Oh, this is my first year here so I have no idea what you're talking about but mini-fridge or not, this room is awesome."

That caught Grover's attention and he spun around "Wait, so today's your first day here?" After I nodded he continued "So you don't know why you're here?"

What? Why else would I be here? "Dude, this is school, I'm here to learn." Of course my dyslexia made learning a little difficult, but I tried.

Grover had this weird look on his face, a sort of mixture of shock, understanding, and concern "Oh yeah, right."

"So why are you here?" I questioned. Who knew, maybe he was a part of some secret society.

Grover shook his head and smiled "Same."

"Okay, in that case I assume that you're in eleventh grade right?" I hoped so otherwise the roommate idea would be a bit of a waste.

"Yep, each floor is organized by grade so we get the fourth floor but everyone has to share a bathroom." Grover was unpacking his suitcase and I followed his lead.

I caught something in his last sentence and asked for clarification "Wait, so boys and girl use the same bathroom?" Apparently taking showers were going to be an awkward event in my life.

Grover laughed "No! I wish. I think. But no. Girls share a bathroom and guys share one. They're both at the end of the hall though and sometimes the girls come out with towels."

I couldn't help but join his laughter and his teasing "Just towels?"

He nodded and gave a mischievous smile "Percy, eight a.m. is when we let our imagination take flight." I laughed and then we exchanged a little banter on that subject before moving on to something more normal.

While we unpacked, we chatted. Grover explained a few things about the school but didn't elaborate on much. He said that curfew changed by thirty minutes every time you pass a grade which made our curfew 11 p.m. He also told me that you were allowed to leave campus before curfew but only if you received permission. He talked about himself and asked me questions too. He was a pretty cool guy and supported the conversation when I didn't want to talk but listened when I did.

After we unpacked everything Grover got up and ran to the bunk-bed.

"Dibs on the bottom bunk." Grover said and bounced into bed.

"Deal." I said and got comfortable on the couch.

This room was paradise.

This room was mine. Oh and Grover's.

^.^.^.^.^

Afterwards Grover and I headed to where orientation was being held. Grover had promised that it was in the café, like every year and since I didn't have a clue, I just followed him.

We were in front of the café doors when some kid stepped next to Grover and began talking like they were old friends, course it was my first year here so for all I know, they were old friends.

"Hey Grover! What did you do for the summer? Have you been practicing-"

Grover suddenly had a coughing fit and held on the guys elbow for what looked like his dear life. He coughed for a few more seconds and then gasped for air. "Oh wow, where did that come from?" Grover still had one of his hands on his chest and the other on the boy I didn't know. Then he straightened up and introduced us. "Sorry Nico, this is Percy, it's his first year here so we're just heading to orientation." I don't know if I was just being paranoid or something, but I could swear that I saw some secret exchange in that sentence.

"So he-"

I guess I'll never know what Nico was going to ask because Grover decided to but in "Since it's Percy's first year here and doesn't know anything about the school I was just leading the way, you can come too."

My theory was supported by the look of confusion quickly snap to acknowledgement on Nico's face but he swiftly recovered and smiled friendly at me "Hey Percy, I'm Nico."

Don't you hate that moment when two people you know are whispering to each other right in front of you and are obviously talking about you? Yeah, I do too and that's exactly how I felt. I didn't know if I should let them be or tell it to them straight up but I was interrupted when another male figure approached us.

"Grover! Nico! How's it been guys? Who's your friend?" I also didn't know this guy but he was taller than me and very muscular, which gave him an intimidating impression but his warm expression made me doubt any malice in him.

"I'm Percy, nice to meet you Nico and you too, umm?" He didn't tell me his name and as hard as I was trying to not look retarded, my 'um' went on for too long before he took the hint.

"Oh! Right, I'm Tyson. It's good to meet you too." He smiled again and offered his hand for me to shake.

Grover fist bumped both Nico and Tyson and re-announced how it was my first year at Goode, how oh so nice of him to cast me as the new kid. But I saw the exact same thing on Tyson's face that Nico did. And that just annoyed me even more.

"Something wrong?" I challenged as we headed to the café.

Good thing they didn't take it offensively, they just looked nervous. But at least Tyson answered "No, nothing it's just that you're so old to be transferring," As he said that I felt like there was a double meaning to his words. I knew that they're not telling me something. I know we just met but it was still rude.

Grover finished for him "Yeah, because you know it would suck to have to switch schools before your senior year."

I decided to just let it go for now and continue with introductions "So how long have you guys been here?"

"We've both been here since ninth grade but sometimes they have some really long field trips that make us miss, like a month of school so we have to make it up. It's not so bad but I guess you get used to it since some of the field trips become mandatory." Tyson explained.

In response I nodded and asked what's really been on my mind since I saw my room "Does the school have any sports?" To my surprise they all went silent and stiff. All I asked was sports! How complicated could that answer really be?

Tyson, once again, answered "What type of sports?"

I stared at him like he was crazy before realizing that maybe his question was a bit reasonable "Like football, soccer, or maybe swimming?" I added the first two to show variety but what I really wanted was to know if there was a swimming team. I've always liked the water but never lasted long enough in a school to actually stay very long in a swim team and I wanted to be captain.

Nico nodded and grinned immensely "Oh yeah, we definitely have a swim team but not soccer or football. There are other sports too, though."

Now that I already knew that there was a possibility of me finally making a team, I made it my goal to try to stay in this school for at least a year, maybe more.

The conversation was brought to a halt as we entered the café. Everyone was sitting scattered around circular tables of the cafeteria, eating. The mouth-watering aroma came from the buffet in the back where several types of food were being offered. And when I say several, I'm talking a wall just covered with food all the way from lobster to lasagna. The drinks were just as delicious with rows of Icee's and smoothies or even sparkling sider. But what caught my attention was at the end of the line, the dessert bar that had cupcakes, brownies, funnel cakes, a chocolate fountain, and I wouldn't be surprised to find the Easter bunny there too. This school was like a five star hotel!

"Let's eat!" Nico exclaimed and led us to the food, I was more than happy to follow.

Once I actually began to pile food on my plate, I realized how really hungry I was. The last thing I ate was my Mom's blue iced tea and specialty sandwich but that was before I got on the plane to Florida from New York. So to quench my hunger I took a bacon burger, potato fries, extra-large milkshake, and a slice of brownie drizzled with chocolate syrup. With my food piled high, I took my seat in between Grover and an empty chair.

"So what exactly is supposed to be at an orientation dinner?" I asked as I took a bite out of my burger. And wow that burger was good! I took two more bites and began to chew with my mouth absolutely full, it was so full that my checks were bulging out and I probably looked like a blowfish. Oh well.

The seat next to me shifted and I heard a screech as it was slid back. "Mind if I sit here?" A voice I didn't recognize but was obviously a girl's spoke.

I looked over to see a girl with long blond curly hair tied up in a pony-tail and grey wise eyes that I found intriguing looking at me expectantly. She was really, really pretty and I was excited about the fact that she wanted to sit next to me.

"Vbeur!" I answered while nodding.

The girl gave me a confused look and I was instantly embarrassed. I tried to chew my food quickly so I could make out an understandable sentence but just managed to make my mouth blow up even more.

"Annabeth, just sit down. We were lucky to even find a table that still had four chairs." A girl that was standing behind her ordered.

I took a gulp of my milkshake and turned to Annabeth "Sorry, umm, I –uh." _I what? Idiot. What was I apologizing for; eating? _

Annabeth was biting her lip to hold back a laugh but her friend was not nearly as subtle she and was giggling hysterically. "Umm, you have a milk-shake mustache." She then handed me a napkin and I took it gratefully, wiping the spot above my lip.

She probably thought I was retarded now, super. "Thanks." I muttered.

"Sure." Annabeth replied and took a bite out of her hotdog.

Nico, Grover, and Tyson were staring at the four girls in awe, like they were celebrities or something. I wondered for a second just who these girls were. I thought that maybe I should introduce myself but then thought against it because after the guys found out it was my first year, I was suddenly a 'Act Weird Zone' or a "Act Secretive Zone' or a –well you get the idea .

Annabeth took the thought right out of my head and made the decision I for me. She took a sip of her Sprite and smiled friendly "Hi, I'm Annabeth and these are my friends Piper, Thalia, and Hazel. I don't think I remember having any classes with you last year, what grade are you in?" Everyone else was caught up in their own conversations but I still felt eyes boring into the back of my head and ears hanging on my every word.

"I'm Percy and I'm in eleventh but yeah I don't recognize you either." Technically I wasn't lying; I just didn't tell her I was a new student.

For a second Annabeth seemed surprised but then a look of curiosity crossed her face. "Oh. Maybe we didn't have any classes because of our levels. I'll tell you mine if you tell me what your-" Annabeth didn't get to finish because Grover, once again, decided to hack out a lung.

Nico and Tyson seemed a little tense as well "Umm, Annabeth hey! I haven't seen you since last year. We didn't talk much, though, why was that?" Nico tried to make conversation with Annabeth from across the table, smooth.

"Because we don't hang out with dorks like you, you're lucky we're even sitting here." Her other friend answered instead. She had vibrant blue eyes and a sort of goth/rocker chick look going on. Annabeth had named her Thalia and I instantly disliked her.

"Thalia!" Annabeth hissed and then apologized. "Sorry, no that's not true. We did that group project for Mrs. Dodds, remember?"

"Just because we don't run the school doesn't make us dorks." Nico mumbled.

I felt bad for Nico because now Thalia was giving him a smirk while he just glared so I decided to help him out "Really, Thalia? Because last I heard, you said you were the lucky ones for finding us." From the corner of my eye, I saw Nico smile at me.

Thalia didn't seem quite as fazed as I thought she would be but I saw a hint of anger and humor in her eyes "Really? I'm surprised you heard that through all the food in your mouth."

Suddenly everyone at the table was quiet and was watching our little throw down but I was annoyed with the giggles she got out of her friends.

"Just because my mouth is working doesn't mean my ears aren't." I explained.

Thalia raised an eyebrow "Well I think-"

"I think that this food is really good." Tyson randomly commented.

"Yeah, why don't you stuff your face like Percy did?" Thalia offered with mock enthusiasm.

This chick was getting on my nerves. "Why don't y-"

"Why don't you guys just shut up?" Annabeth exclaimed mostly to Thalia.

Thalia looked a bit insulted and surprised "Please, Annabeth. We're talking about Lover Boy here, it's not like things are going to get out of hand."

Annabeth just shook her head "Well you're not supposed to use your-"

A spring role ended up hitting Annabeth square in the face making Annabeth shoot mental daggers at Grover.

"What the hell, Grover?!" Annabeth exclaimed as she wiped her face and threw the spring roll back.

Grover looked really worried and I was concerned he'd hack up his heart this time "I, uh, I'm sorry Annabeth. But um, this is Percy's first year here because he's new."

Now everyone was quiet. What is that supposed to mean and why is that so important?

"Oh. I'm sorry I didn't know." Annabeth looked a little embarrassed although I didn't see a reason for her to be.

Now everyone was mute. The silence was irritating me and my blood was pumping with anger. "So what? Am I intruding on your little clique or something?" Usually people would be excited about fresh meat but here they were just so cautious and secretive, it was actually rude. Besides, I didn't see much of a friendship happening with Thalia and Nico.

No one answered straight away; they just looked around the table for answers for a few seconds. When I felt that I was never going to get an answer, I realized that the answer was yes. I almost stood up but Grover stopped me.

"Wait Percy, you're not intruding. It's just that…" Grover was looking around helplessly into the eyes of everyone at the table, pleading for some assistance. Now I felt overwhelmed by the guarded atmosphere. I just hated that.

Grover got lucky just this once because some man walked up to the stage and began speaking into the microphone "Welcome students to another year at Goode High School. We are all very pleased to have you. Since tomorrow will be the beginning of the school year, we thought that we'd start to explain how things are run here."

After he was done explaining protocol I was afraid he was about to say another long speech but my fears were diminished when the first words came out of his mouth "Now, students of upper grades are allowed to leave but I would like for all ninth graders and the following students to stay behind after dinner."

I was hardly listening but I certainly recognized my name as it came out of his mouth "Perseus Jackson." _Oh joy, what did I do now?_ It wasn't even the first day of school, I hope that they weren't about to kick me out. Good-bye swim team.

"Bye Percy. I'll see you later." Grover said as he got up to leave. Of course I was one of only three people who got called and had to stay behind, I'd have to get Grover to explain why he and everyone else was being so weird later.

They gathered all of ninth grade and the three of us to sit in front of the stage. I was sent to the back because I was taller than everyone else but I could still hear just fine.

"Hello, my name is Chiron and I am going to explain why you are all here, why you had to come here instead of your home town school. Most of you were probably invited here and received some letters, right? Okay so I want everyone to be quiet because I have no time for foolishness. I also need you to listen closely without interruption and please just hear me out."

There are people in this world beyond what we are used to and what we were taught growing up. Every single one of you is gifted in your own special way. You are not a super-hero so don't get excited, you're a demi-warrior. You have an ability inside of you that you don't know and haven't received yet. It's something that has to come out on its own and it can't be forced. It is a top priority that it be controlled once you receive it. If one morning you wake up and you've grown an extra hand, don't freak out because that's normal. I'm not saying that that will happen but just try to not do anything dangerous or get on anyone's temper because these abilities are hard to control and accidents happen quickly and they can get out of hand just as quick. The students of the upper grades have them, except for a couple, but don't take any of their foolishness because you will get your abilities someday too. Some abilities are greater than others but every single one is important so please be careful. Don't try to do anything stupid because I have guards so don't try to leave. Please just rest on it. To let the more anxious ones know when exactly you'll get your abilities; it usually happens when you're fifteen or around the age most of you are now. You do have to attend school tomorrow but if you still have any concerns, I am always available as well as your fellow peers. Rest tonight, I'll see you tomorrow for school. Yes, you still have to attend school, with a slightly different curriculum. And if any of you wake up in the middle of the night with your ability, come see administration or one of the ladies or gentlemen in bright orange shirts. Everything will be explained better once you receive your ability and I promise it will make more sense, this was just a warning beforehand so you don't go around thinking you're going crazy. You are now dismissed."

Everyone shuffled out of the room and I was lost in the sea of several confused, excited, and unaffected teens. I hardly felt my legs move as I ended up outside but I felt the change in temperature and knew that we were outside due to the warmer night air instead of the usual AC.

I followed everyone to the dorm building in my confused and lost state. I didn't know whether I should believe everything or call my Mom and tell her she sent me to a school of whack-jobs. It didn't necessarily make sense because I'm seventeen and you're supposed to get your abilities in ninth grade, assuming that they even exist. So the question is, why don't I have my ability? Has there been some mistake? Is this why Grover was acting strange? Is my ability non-existent? Am I dreaming? Is this some joke? Are these people high or something?

This is not paradise.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N- From the reviews I got, I decided to continue with the story and make another chapter. You guys have no idea how really awesome I felt when I got my first review and my first follower. It really made my day and I started to check my e-mail every five minutes and I wasn't disappointed once because I kept re-reading them over and over so thank-you. Since I wanted to get another chapter up this week because I'm not sure I can next week because of exams, this chapter may have a few mistakes and I only worked on it shortly. But thanks though!**

**Specifically, thank-you to: 1- ****The-Cute-and-Kind-K.P 2- MJ (Guest) 3- MexicanPr0digy …for being my first reviewers. It means a lot! And thanks to Misunderstood-Poet for being my first follower. **

**Q + A-**

**MJ (Guest): Why was Thalia being such a jerk? A: Well, I can't really tell you that but there is one clue as to why she was acting like that in that chapter. It's a bit small and just one sentence so it may be hard to catch but it's there. You may also find out why in this chapter as well as if you think back to when you were in Elementary school. Bleh, I sound confusing. Whatever, that's all I can give you because I don't want to spoil anything.**

**Lil'Ginge (Guest): What book and TV show? A: TV show = Tower Prep (I really don't know why that show got cancelled because it was my favorite and definitely deserved another season, just saying), but I got the IDEA not the entire story plot from it so it won't be very similar. I got the levels, school, and my interpretation of the ending from it. Book = Shadow Falls by C.C Hunter, I won't tell you which parts because there are so many itty bitty parts that sort of grew into one big concept. And it's also such a really great book so you should read it. **

**Review please and all characters belong to Rick Riordan. **

**^.^.^.^.^**

_I'm different yeah I'm different, I'm different yeah I'm different, I'm different yeah I'm different_

_^.^.^.^.^_

I woke up to the irritating sound of the alarm from my iPhone –also given to me by the school. The thought of actually having to get up and face the new world I learned about last night was nauseating, every bone in my body was screaming at me to just stay in my warm bed but of course, like the idiot I am, I got up and decided to prepare myself the best I could for the day's events. I hopped down from my bunk and took a look around the room to see if I needed to wake Grover up but when I checked his bed, the only trace of him was the ruffled up blankets.

So instead I snatched a bag in which I stuffed my morning essentials and left the room to find the bathroom. On my way there I noticed that people were still leaving their rooms despite how late it was to head to the showers; I didn't blame them because I too enjoyed sleep. I stepped into the guys' bathroom and found that it was separated by two halves, one for showers and one for toilets and urinals. I used the first vacant shower I found and was glad to see that the space inside was big enough for me to change without getting my clothes wet. At least there wasn't a line for showers because I am not a morning person and I wasn't in such a good mood last night.

After having heard the speech from Chiron, everyone had returned to the dorms building in mute. I found Grover waiting for me on his desk chair while he read a book. I hadn't been mad at him but I just hadn't been in the mood for any talking so I just bounced in my bed, clothes and all, and pretended to go to sleep. I appreciated Grover for giving me some space because the last thing I wanted was for him to coax my feelings out as if he were my therapist but at the same time I hoped that his silence didn't mean that he still saw me as an outsider.

Last night, it took me a very long time to fall asleep. I had to have been awake for more than a few hours before my eyes finally closed. I'm not sure if I have accepted the idea of being named a demi-warrior (which I have yet to figure out what that exactly is) and having 'abilities' but I decided to go along with it for just a little longer, for Mom's sake.

After showering, I dried myself off and got dressed. Outside, the bathroom was densely packed with guys showering, brushing their teeth, using the urinals, and just hanging out while talking. I headed over to the sinks to brush my teeth and by the looks of how many people weren't actually using them; this was obviously a popular spot to just chat while blocking entry. I shuffled around everyone until I made it to an empty sink and brushed my teeth. Grover was right next to me washing his hands and he offered a friendly smile. I returned it with a nod as I continued.

I didn't exactly feel _uncomfortable_ with him, I just felt awkward because there was so much that I didn't know about him and everyone else. And yeah, it's normal to not know much about a friend you just met but there are some qualities that are a little bit essential to be informed about your friend like say, being human. And I wasn't even sure if he was human, but admitting he wasn't human would mean that I may possibly be admitting that I wasn't human and that was slightly unbearable.

Ugh, I was giving myself headaches.

Two seconds ago, all I could hear were the rowdy laughs and jokes of the people behind me as I spit my mouthwash and now all of a sudden everything was silent. The only sounds were the water from the showers and me zipping up my bag but everything else was deadly still.

I spun around to find that everyone had made a bubble around Grover and a blond guy with a gruesome scar on the left side of his face. Grover's expression told me that, whatever was going on, it wasn't good. The boy with the scar had gotten in Grover's face as he sneered and said something I couldn't make out followed by laughter of the many onlookers. The guy pushed Grover's chest challengingly and I couldn't help but notice that Grover was a good four inches smaller than the boy and less muscular. The boy with the scar got in Grover's face again and I decided that it was time to stop what hadn't really started.

Pushing witnesses aside, I managed to get into the little bubble formed around Grover and the boy I didn't know. "Hey man, stop." I heard Grover sigh in relief which told me that I made the correct decision to cut in between them. However, there was still the fact that I had to deal with the blond dude.

"Stop? Stop doing what? I haven't done anything." The guy with the scar said with mock innocence, he laid a hand on his chest for dramatic effect while he glanced around as if everyone else hadn't seen the same thing I had.

I didn't want to actually get into something so I just agreed with him "Okay, in that case we have to go."

Apparently that would be getting off too easily. The guy with the scar stepped in front of me and pushed me back like he had done with Grover "Oh, were you talking about that? I didn't mean to hurt dear old Grover, though. You know, it was just a friendly gesture. Right Grover?"

Grover stuttered "Uh –I. Um, I don't know Luke."

Okay, so his name was Luke. I don't like Luke.

Luke sneered and then got in _my _space. Okay, now I was beyond irritated but I attempted to contain the anger within me but I couldn't step back because I was already pressed against the sink counters which made me even more upset.

I fought the urge to punch the boy right in the face because, let's face it; I'd lose a fight with anyone who had abilities. Plus, I knew people like Luke before I even came to Goode; they were all over my old school. They fought for dominance so they provoked you into a fight to prove to everyone that they managed to give you a broken nose and a black eye, like a 'real' man. I hated people like Luke and the way they made others cower under a raised hand like a puppy, it's so messed up.

Now Luke's face was only within inches of mine and his hot breath over flooded my breathing space "See, no harm done, just a friendly gesture."

"Get out of my face." I ordered with as much calmness I could manage and shoved him back.

He stumbled a bit before regaining his balance. Luke's face turned red and his hands were balled into fists so tight that his knuckles were white. His muscles were flexing as he took rapid breaths and squeezed his eyes shut. He looked constipated.

"Umm, Percy? We should go." Grover suggested as he tugged on my wrist.

Luke's eyes flew open at the sound of my name and he seemed to have gotten a hold of himself but the anger was definitely still there. However, I wasn't worried about how mad he was, no, I was worried about why on Earth he was smiling.

He was still smiling but it wasn't out of happiness, it was a malicious grin. "Perseous Jackson? Hmm, I think I remember you from last night's dinner." He checked behind him real quick and yelled "Hey guys, we've got a newbie." A group of about three guys stood behind Luke and some wiggled their fingers at me as if I was supposed to be intimidated by wiggly fingers. They should've just cracked their knuckles like in the cliché movies; it would've made them look less retarded.

I think they saw how utterly unimpressed I was because he continued to speak, maybe to scare me, instead of pummeling me down "You obviously don't know who I am or what I can do." After I didn't reply, he continued "Would you like a demonstration because I'm pretty sure that you need to see it first-hand. Usually people who experience what I can do tend to leave me alone. I assume you'd so the same correct?"

I was still determined to not say anything, mostly because I was outnumbered, two to four. I remembered how scared Grover looked when he was in the same position a bit earlier so I checked to make sure he was okay only to find that he had vanished and I was all alone. Wow. Make that five to one. I didn't see that one coming. I didn't even notice when he left. Nice.

"You see Percy, I, like everyone else, oh except for you, am very talented. But the only difference is that I am much more gifted than our pathetic little peers." Luke stepped forward and I've got to admit, I was a bit nervous about what he'd actually do to me. Chiron had said that some abilities were dangerous and I didn't want to know how dangerous they could get.

_SLAM! _

Luke was momentarily distracted by the sound of a pickup truck crashing into the wall. A big burly man was standing in the doorway of the bathroom with the door halfway off its hinges and right next to him was none other than Grover. For a second I wondered what they were doing but then I decided not to question my luck. The man had to be at least eight feet tall, or more. He took his blow horn and yelled into it "Why is everyone standing around? Breakfast starts in five minutes! Hustle! Move it you lazy bums! Everyone out!"

I was grateful when Luke flashed me a very pissed off glare as he unhappily followed everyone out of the steamy bathroom. I did the same but stopped next to Grover as he walked with me. "So what was that all about?" I asked.

Grover shrugged "Nothing. But since you really don't know, I should fill you in. Luke isn't someone you want to have as an enemy and sadly, he hates my guts. Thanks for stepping in, though, but I had to leave because, no offense, but you couldn't take the guy down even if he were blindfolded. He's really powerful Percy, I had to get help."

We left our dorm after grabbing our book bags and were taking the already full elevator downstairs "It's okay Grover but what makes Luke so great?" I asked.

"Well, he has this ability where he can manipulate your hands and arms and basically every part of your body. Your brain knows what's going on and you try to struggle but you just feel frozen and you _can't _move no matter how much you want to. Like, this one time he actually made this kid beat himself up. The only bright side about his ability is that he has to be touching you to manipulate you so if you can run fast then you're safe." The way Grover was putting it; I had a feeling that Luke had done it to him once. I couldn't believe that someone could be so powerful that they basically turned you against yourself. Like, it was an achievement to be able to climb the rope at gym but this was just so surreal.

The last thing I wanted to do was make Grover feel uncomfortable but my curiousness got the better of me, and I guess my curiosity is better than my criticism about them being a freaky type demi-warrior thing. So I continued with my questions instead "So he manipulated you?"

To my surprise, Grover actually admitted it "Yep, worst minute of my life. I was talking to Annabeth about or history project last year and Luke comes from behind me and takes my hand. I knew his ability so I tried to take my hand away but I felt that I couldn't. At first I didn't feel numb anywhere except for in my hand but then I felt the numbness spreading throughout my entire body. It's sort of like when your foot's asleep but you don't feel tingly, just numbness. I kept trying to rip my hand away but I couldn't even make it twitch so I tried to use my other hand but I could only manage to wiggle my fingers. In a matter of seconds I couldn't even move my lips. It was so embarrassing because he made me bang my head against the locker a million times before Annabeth convinced him to stop and then I got a major headache and had to see the nurse while he was stuck on kitchen duty." It sounded terrible and I immediately made a mental note to stay away from Luke and made another one to make him pay for hurting Grover. By the time Grover was done retelling his story, we were already outside.

"So why didn't you use your ability to stop him since your brain still worked?" I asked.

"Well my ability wasn't working at the time." Grover muttered.

He just left me completely confused and I think he understood because once he saw my expression he explained further.

Grover just shook his head "I have a lame ability. All I can do is make plants grow and stuff like that but there weren't any plants when Luke was manipulating me which is why I now carry seeds with me everywhere I go." Grover finished proudly, and although I thought it was strange to carry seeds, I knew why he'd do it and I've got to admit, I'd probably be do the same thing if I were him.

"But can't you make a tree fall on somebody or a weed tangle up in someone's feet?" I don't know why he was so upset with his ability, the only downside was that it couldn't work without any plants but even then he still had seeds.

"Ha! Make a tree fall? Are you kidding me? Do I look like superman? Percy, if it were that easy then we'd all be living the dream but it's never that easy. Your ability isn't something you can just use whenever you like, there's some serious mental strain when you use it. Sort of like lifting weights. Imagine making a tree fall is like lifting four hundred pounds. Impossible, right? I mean not impossible because I just need to practice more but if I try to do too much at once, I could like collapse. But yeah I can tangle people's feet up, I do it all the time. Especially with Luke when we go to gym outside. I run away and have the grass eat him up and trip him until he's too tired to run." Grover replied smugly.

"It's not so bad; I mean it could be worse." I said to try to cheer him up and then mentally added that he was lucky he even had an ability. Even though I felt a bit left out because I didn't have an ability. But I don't know what would be worse; to be an outsider or to have an ability to brag about, probably the ladder because I never really fit in anyways.

"BUT, you're not allowed to use your abilities on other people attending school, including teachers, or you get major consequences for like a month. Trust me, it's not very fun." Nico, who showed up out of the blue added.

We were already inside the café and once again, the back of the room was stocked with all types of breakfast items, my stomach grumbled just by looking at the food. We made our way to the buffet and I piled my plate up high, again. I got a glazed donut, eggs, sausage, and orange juice.

Grover led us to a table where one other Hispanic looking guy was seated. I sat next to Nico this time while the unknown boy introduced himself. "Hey, I'm Leo. You're Perceous Jackson, right? I remember you from last night."

I nodded as I returned the fist-bump he offered "Yep, Percy. We were just talking about their abilities." I gestured towards the guys and I'm sure Nico knew he was next.

"So you know about Nico, and Grover?" Leo tested.

"Actually, I know about Grover but its Nico's turn." I replied.

Nico took a massive bite out of his bagel and swallowed so fast I thought he'd choke but he managed to answer "Well, I can somewhat travel with the shadows."

I looked at him like he was crazy "What?"

"You see all the shadows around the side of a building? I can literally walk right through it in seconds or the shadows under a tree? I can blend right in." Nico said proudly.

"In case you didn't notice, Nico's ability is the coolest." Grover said as he turned his raisin into a grape which I tried not to stare at like I was going to jump out of my seat any second, but had to admit was very impressive.

Nico waved his hand in the air and teased "Well, I don't mean to boast or anything. How about you Leo, yours is pretty cool too?"

Leo looked taken by surprise as he stuffed his mouth with an orange peel and smiled like everyone used to do in elementary school, his grin just looked like a strip of orange that had replaced his teeth. I couldn't help but crack a smile. He spit it out and then answered "Course I don't want to brag, but..."

Leo held his hands up "Okay, okay, so basically I can shoot five inches of fire with my fingertips and one inch with my palms."

With my mouth open and my eyes that resembled a deer caught in the headlights, I probably didn't even need to explain how I was feeling, but hopefully they confused my alarmed expression for one that looked amazed. "That's so crazy. But Nico, your ability doesn't work at night, does it?"

"It can if there's a shadow under a streetlamp or under a stoplight or something, I guess I wouldn't be able to travel very far but that doesn't mean it wouldn't work." Nico explained.

Nodding I garbled down all of my delicious food and then Chiron began to go over how the school worked. We would still be getting normal subjects but we would also be attending some slightly different classes. It was also mandatory for everyone to be in one club and one combat class. There were eight periods instead of six and school ended at three thirty, everyone had lunch at the same time which didn't seem to be a problem because the café was so massive.

We were supposed to get our schedules from the teachers stationed at the tables on the left side of the room in an 'orderly manner', in which everyone just ran up to be first. I was grateful for having been seated so close to them because I was one of the first people to get up and stand in the 'J' line since it was organized alphabetically by last name.

Once I got my schedule, I noticed that everything seemed pretty normal except for of course my combat class that took up two hours which were considered second and third period. But, thank God, lunch was fourth period. So my schedule basically looked like this:

Homeroom: Mrs. Telfair – Room# 1107

Combat: Coach Wayland – Room# 1220

Combat: Coach Chiron – Room# 1220

Lunch

Science: Mrs. Maxwell – Room# 1143

Math: Mrs. Haynes – Room# 1210

English: Mrs. Calderon – Room# 1208

History: Ms. Williams – Room# 1106

Not including lunch, Grover had five classes with me, Nico had five classes with me, Tyson had four classes with me, and Leo had three classes with me. But we all had combat and homeroom for first, as well as second and third period together. I was pretty happy that they all had the first three classes with me so I wouldn't have to wander around the school like an idiot while searching for my classes.

After we finished eating, we decided to dump our trays and get to class early in order to beat the morning rush. In the very back corner of the café were two double doors, which was the mainly used entrance by students (according to Nico) to get inside the school. I figured that I didn't have to pay close attention to where we were going since the guys knew their way around so I just looked at our surroundings and the occasional poster pinned up about 'Hugs Not Drugs' or 'Crack is Whack' and other influential stuff like that.

"Behold the room of Mrs. Telfair!" Leo announced dramatically as he opened the door of one of the classrooms wide to expose what was inside.

Honestly, I didn't know why he was making a big deal out of it because it was just a regular looking classroom. The only thing good about it was the large size and the mouthwatering smell of cupcakes even though I just had breakfast.

I inhaled deeply and opened my eyes wide to see where the cupcakes were but I only found a middle-aged African American lady sitting at her desk in the very front of her room. She had long brown hair and a kind expression, but no cupcakes anywhere near her, I doubted her perfume was _that _strong.

Not many people were in the room, just a group of girls in the middle of the class and scattered students sitting in pairs or solitarily. Oh, and would you look at that? The group consisted of Annabeth, Thalia, Piper, and Hazel talking rather loud about various topics. They were sitting in a square so that they'd all be able to communicate with each other without having to strain themselves.

"Follow my lead." Nico ordered. He walked into the middle of the aisle and right behind the girls. He was obviously aiming to piss off Thalia because he sat right behind her on top of the desk so that his back almost made contact with her hair. I sat behind Annabeth and Leo sat behind Nico while Grover sat behind me.

According to Thalia's facial expression, she was not too pleased with Nico. I was sitting in my seat when Annabeth and the other girls turned around too and were captivated with Nico and Thalia.

"Nico, if you don't get away from me then I'm going to make you wish that you never entered the class." Thalia threatened menacingly.

Apparently Nico had a death wish because he just laughed "Whatever, Goth Chick but first you have to catch me." Nico did the mistake of playing with the end of Thalia's hair and she shot out of her seat but before I could even blink, Nico disappeared as Thalia groaned in frustration.

I stood up and looked around for Nico "What?"

"Back here Percy!" Nico yelled as he was in a very relaxed position in the back of the room.

How did he get back there so fast? Nico saw my confused expression and quickly explained "I travel with the shadows dude!" I have to admit, that was pretty cool.

Thalia scowled as she sat down "Yeah but one of these days, you aren't going to be so lucky and there won't be any shadows to help you. Then you'll have to be dealing with me."

Nico seemed unfazed and sarcastically said "Ohh, I'm so scared, Grover please protect me!" Smirking, he returned to his seat but kept his foot out in the shadowed area of the floor, just in case.

I noticed that a few more people began to file in but the class was still quite empty. I wondered how long it really took for everyone to find the class but then again, the hallways must be insanely crowded.

Mrs. Telfair walked up to the front of the class and wrote in big letters with dry erase markers her name and the word 'Homeroom'. Once she turned around all talking seized and I know why. Her kind face didn't do anything to hide the challenge in her eyes, daring someone to talk over her.

"I see some familiar faces from recent year but I'm going to go ahead and introduce myself for those of you who don't know me. Hello, I am Mrs. Telfair and this year I'll just be here to supervise you as you work on some of the work from other classes or if you just feel like talking that's fine as long as I don't hear you screaming across the room." Mrs. Telfair nodded once and excused herself to sit behind her desk.

As soon as she was comfortable she snapped her eyes back up and they zeroed in on me. I quickly looked away to be polite but couldn't help but peek out of my peripheral vision. She was still looking at me.

Even though I knew she was staring at me, it still surprised me when she called "Perseus Jackson."

I tried not to get nervous but I couldn't help but worry about what she could possibly need to talk to me about on the first day of school. Really, it's not like I packed some illegal underwear.

So instead of freaking out, I calmly walked to the front of the room and stood in front of her desk which smelled strongly of cupcakes. I inhaled deeply and avoided smiling as I exhaled but the aroma was just so good. Mrs. Telfair stood up and walked to the door "Report to the Vice Principals office please, he'd like to speak with you." That was all she said as she handed me a map and then gestured towards the door.

After searching the school for quite a bit and studying my trustworthy map, I arrived at the Vice Principal's office… 20 minutes later.

Chiron was there behind a mahogany **(Go Effie Trinket! Sorry, I just had to do that :D ) **desk. He looked up once he heard the door open and I was suddenly reminded of what I could possibly be in trouble for. And as if he read my mind he shook his head and said "It's okay, you're not in trouble. I just wanted to have a chat with you, is that alright?" He kindly asked crossing his arms. I don't know why but I felt like this talk wasn't going to end well.

Either way, I just shrugged "Um, okay?"

"Alright Perseus,-"

"Percy." I corrected.

Grinning, he nodded "Alright, Percy, I wanted to explain a few things concerning last night's speech. I noticed you and many others were very confused and scared but I didn't want you to feel like that. I remember my first year here and I didn't like how they left me hanging with so many questions and I'm pretty sure you didn't go asking for help so I decided to have a talk with you and the two other boys who were, uh, late bloomers. So I'd be happy to answer any questions you may feel troubled with."

I really didn't know what to say besides none of this should be real. This is just all so crazy! I guess that with my mute response Chiron took that as a sign to begin because I certainly didn't plan on being first.

"You don't believe any of this, do you?" He tested.

The funny part was that he was right on point. How could he expect me to believe any of this, though? Okay, well I certainly did believe it but how could I accept it? Like, Grover at the breakfast table; teenage boys should not be transforming their raisins to grapes. It's just not normal! I guess I wasn't very normal either but I certainly wasn't an alien or anything this bizarre. Or maybe I was or whatever. Still, the guys seemed pretty cool aside from the fact that they had each inherited some crazy abilities.

Instead of telling Chiron what I really felt I just went with what I really genuinely felt "I don't know what to think."

To my utter shock, Chiron just beamed with a sort of knowing look "Ah, you remind me much of myself when I was once your age a while back."

I didn't know what to say to that either so I just nodded.

"Percy, you see some things are taught to us for your own good but we still make sure that you were informed of the things that live among us. Like fairy tales and myths and legends all come from somewhere, they don't just randomly sprout from the human mind like you may think. Someone leaked the information and began to tell stories about it and as time grew, once people didn't see any proof they took all those stories and just thought them to be nothing else but entertainment for the imagination. Being a demi-warrior was just another secret that needed to be kept hidden from you until now. Your Mom has done an excellent job in raising you but we need to make sure you understand your potential in having these abilities. We need to help you prepare for the things that are sure to come. I can't tell you everything because you need time but I can tell you that you will do great things Percy. Trust me and yourself." Surprisingly, Chiron was very convincing. I don't know but I felt like I did belong but I just didn't want to because it wasn't right. Society's version of right but _I _felt right, even if all this craziness wasn't supposed to exist. This was a lot to handle but I no longer felt the urge to not believe what was going on. I felt like I wanted more answers and I wanted to know why I didn't know anything before.

We probably sat there for ten minutes before I came to a conclusion that perhaps these people aren't entirely insane.

I felt a bond towards Chiron as he was the one who helped get unstuck from the ditch society had dug for me. Yes I was still weirded out by it all but there wasn't anything I could do about it so I just had to deal with it.

I had so many questions I didn't even know where to start, but I managed to grasp one of the dozens floating around in my head. "Okay, so my friend had said that you're going to need to practice your ability but my other friend told me that you weren't allowed to use your abilities on other people but I heard that some abilities are physical. How would that exactly work?"

At first I thought I saw a small smile and a glint in Chiron's eyes because I had chosen to accept everything but then he quickly changed his train of thought to my current question "Both true. But in your combat class you're going to be getting a lot of hands-on-supervised practice so everyone will at least get one hour of practicing their abilities every day. And even though we don't allow it, and there are consequences if it happens, kids are always using their abilities when we're not around like in their dorms or in those party's at the warehouse you think we don't know about." He gave me a knowing look after continuing "Besides we only have a few level fives in each grade and all teachers are level fives so we always get to the trouble before anything major really happens. So don't worry, you'll be getting enough practice but still be in a safe environment."

"What're you talking about level five? What is that?" I replied.

"As I'm sure you have noticed some abilities are more advanced than others. Little things will differ and you'll be evaluated on how well you deal with dear situations, your ability, combat skills and strategy. It's basic stuff. Anyways based on that, you will be given a level. Levels reach from 1-5, five being mastery. Basically it's how advanced you are with your ability and other factors. But there are only a handful of students who are level fives so it's okay if you're level three because that's the average for juniors."

"Is there any way of knowing when I'll even get my ability, like a sign or anything?" I asked.

Chiron shrugged "Not really, what we have noticed is that usually our outburst of emotion trigger it and it'll be a bit hard to contain after that until you manage to calm down. However, it won't be painful or anything."

I nodded and asked something I had thought about last night "What if I accidently hurt someone when I find out my ability?"

Furrowing his eyebrows Chiron hesitated to answer and then began "Well that would be bad. But like I said, the staff have abilities too and most of them are level five so I'm pretty sure we would be able to handle any situation quickly."

Okay, this guy answered one question and a dozen more popped up. "Okay so if we come to this school, we have to become a part of the staff?" I questioned because what were the odds that the entire staff happened to be demi-warriors?

"Only if you choose to." Was all he said followed by utter silence. His face was stern and looked very uncomfortable and I guessed that he was getting a little tired of me and it was time for me to leave.

To support my theory, Chiron stood up and escorted me to the door "Percy, you need to get back to class before the bell rings. Nice talk. Come back if you ever feel like you need someone to talk to because I'll always be here and I wouldn't mind some company." Although I thought it was rude of him to just basically be telling me to scram, I guess it was time to go.

I felt better than I had before because I think I was more in understanding with the chaos I walked into yesterday but I guess that changed too because it's no longer much of chaos to me.

And yea, I guess I've got to accept that I'm not normal; I'm different.

And there's nothing wrong with that.


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, another chapter! Thanks to all the new people who decided to follow/favorite me! You guys are awesome. And thank-you to the people who reviewed the story, you guys always make my day! Anyways, review and follow.**

**All characters belong to Rick Riordan.**

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_Welcome to a new kind of tension, all across the alien nation where everything isn't meant to be okay._

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Leaving Chiron's office had been the best part of my day. Even though it was still morning I knew that everything else was probably going to go down-hill just by looking at who was standing in front of me.

Luke.

Life hated me; that was my only conclusion. It didn't even let me catch my breath for crying out loud!

I wasn't sure if I should run away even though that would look cowardly but I didn't have a death wish and Luke seemed more than willing to fulfill his position in assuring that I would be in a coffin by sundown.

But thank god that during the three seconds of which Luke and I had a stare-down the bell echoed throughout the school causing everyone to bust out of their classes and crowd the hall. In a moment of sheer luck, I ran as soon as Luke was smothered in the array of student bodies. I didn't really know where I was going but I headed in the direction from where I came from and then stopped to check the map. I had to find where the Gym was because that's where I had my combat class. After five minutes of staring at the map and trying to focus, I decided that it'd just be easier to ask for directions instead of trying to control my dyslexia.

After asking at least four times for the Gym, I managed to land myself in front of two steel doors with a bunch of students waiting excitedly in front of. The doors were closed and had _GYM_ imprinted on them but for what would the school need bulky steel doors for, I had no idea.

Waiting outside along with everyone else I tried to search the crowd for Grover or Nico or a familiar face but managed to just come up with a bunch of teenagers I've never seen in my entire life. Super.

A tap on my shoulder momentarily removed me from my state of confusion and I turned to check who it was. "Yeah?"

The last person I'd expect to want my attention for even a second was Thalia. She had a sort of concerned but amused expression that made me question her intentions but was a nice change from her usual scowl she wore around Grover, Nico and I. "Percy, right?" she checked.

"Yeah." I confirmed.

She looked around us before speaking back to me as if she were double checking to make sure we were in the right place. "What're you doing here?" Thalia asked while trying to contain a laugh.

What is she talking about? Does she own the gym too? I felt the urge to say something like 'oh you know, ordering a cheeseburger', you know because what else would I be doing behind the doors of a gym? However, I decided against it because Thalia didn't seem like the type of girl who just accepted sarcastic replies. So instead, me being the smart guy I am, I said exactly what I thought I was supposed to be doing here. "Um, this is my next period. So I guess I'm just waiting for them to open the doors or something like that."

Thalia smirked and nodded "Okay, just checking." She said before disappearing into the crowd of girls.

Okay… strange?

I waited for maybe another five minutes until I finally noticed something strange about my surroundings. I spun around about eight times like a dog chasing its tail before I came to a decision that I was in the wrong place. All the students around me were _girls_ and me being the not so smart guy I was five minutes ago, I didn't notice that until right about now.

Apparently life got tired of messing with me because I felt a small hand wrap around my wrist and tug me to the outskirts of the crowd; it was Annabeth who was leading me away.

"You're not supposed to be here, Percy." She stated.

I was once again mesmerized by her grey eyes that seemed to contradict her Californian beach girl look, like they were their own rebellion. They seemed to bore into you like they could see right through everything you said and know every dark secret you tried so very hard to keep hidden.

"Percy, you have to go or you're going to get in trouble for being on the girls' side." She warned crossing her arms which just brought my attention to her perfectly formed figure but I stopped myself from staring before I could get distracted.

"Well then where do I go?" I asked.

Rolling her eyes as if I was a first grader who needed help tying their shoe for the umpteenth time she replied "The boys side obviously, it's on the other side of the gym."

I tried not to sound stupid as I told her my little situation with that "Well, I don't really know how to get there."

"You've got to be kidding me." Annabeth muttered before checking her watch. She seemed to hesitate for a few seconds before nodding "Okay, I'll take you there. C'mon but we've got to be quick."

I followed her around the corner and as soon as we went past the girls' side, I noticed that the hallways were basically empty aside from the few stragglers even though the bell hadn't rung yet. I also saw as I walked beside Annabeth that she held a proud and independent aura around her like she could take care of herself and didn't need to rely on anyone else but she'd still be willing to offer a hand to someone who did need it.

"So how was your talk with Chiron?" Annabeth asked.

"How do you know about that?" I tested.

Annabeth smirked "I was in your first period class if you don't remember and I heard when Mrs. Telfair called on you."

"But how did you know I was going to Chironn's office?"

"Well I was a late bloomer too and I remember they had me see Chiron as well. It made you feel less crazy didn't it?" Annabeth asked knowingly.

_YES. _"Well, you know. A little bit." I answered coolly.

Annabeth sneaked a side glance real quick but I caught it "Yeah I know, but it gets better and less confusing. Believe me, it's not as bad as it seems. And you'll get used to gym, it's not so bad. Well it may be bad for you today and the other two boys because you guys are going to be tested and we're going to be watching."

I don't know if I heard right but I think I heard smugness in Annabeth's voice as she said that. "How do you know?" I questioned.

"I told you, I was a late bloomer too and every year they do the same thing. The late bloomers get tested on the first day of school on every aspect aside from their ability. Then when you finally get your ability, they test you on that in front of everybody. A lot of people end up tripping and messing up but that's because they don't know what they're doing but once they go through training they're a lot better. It's not that bad if you have a reliable ability though so don't worry unless they ask for help from the students to motivate you guys, then you might be in trouble. Usually when that happens most people end up failing because the coaches always pick a level five student to help and some of the level fives are a little bit standoffish." She did a terrible job at reassuring me. Oh yeah sure, tell me how I am going to probably humiliate myself in front of everybody and how I'll probably fail but it'll all be okay _afterwards _as long as I don't end up stuck with a level five student, which I probably will. I guess you could say the odds aren't exactly in my favor **(Go Effie!)**. Just thinking about going in front of everybody to just screw up was pretty nerve-wracking but I guess I didn't really have a choice. No matter how much I tried to plan for my disaster I couldn't help but feel that I'll just end up losing all my dignity and fail epically. Joy.

To take my mind off my impending doom I asked her another question that had nothing to do with what I was about to do in less than an hour. "Okay so what do you usually do during Gym?"

Annabeth pursed her lips in a very cute way before responding "You practice your hands on combat without your abilities for the first hour and then you practice your ability for the next hour. You get help if you're new but otherwise you have to try to reach a level five by yourself."

"That sounds hard to do all alone. What level are you?" I questioned to be polite.

She shrugged before answering "I guess it's a little difficult, it's okay though because we're allowed to help each other so I can try to teach you if you'd like since I'm a level five."

A five? I thought that Chiron had said that only a handful of students were a level five, what were the odds that Annabeth happened to be one? I didn't have enough time to accept Annabeth's offer although I really wanted to because she began to talk again.

"C'mon, we're here and it took longer than I thought; I hardly ever come to the guys' side. It'd be a waste of time to go back to the girls side because by the time I make it back there, I bet they'd have closed it already so now _I'm _going to get in trouble now. Thanks a lot Percy." Annabeth muttered.

I kind of did feel guilty but I was happy that Annabeth would be coming in with me so she could lead since I really didn't know what I was doing. But I did apologize so she wouldn't be mad at me "Sorry, I guess it is kind of my fault."

"Kind of?" Annabeth asked as we neared the large crowd of guys in front of the steel doors.

"Okay, maybe it _is _my fault." I corrected.

"Maybe?" Annabeth probed.

"Okay fine it's my fault that you're going to get in trouble. I can take the blame if you're that worried about it." I offered as compromise.

Annabeth smiled and stopped as we reached the back of the guys' crowd "No it's fine, we don't dress out for the first day anyways so it's not that big a deal. But they don't allow girls in the boys' locker room for obvious reasons and vice versa but since boys and girls enter the gym together I'll be fine as long as Coach Chiron or Coach Brouse aren't in there."

I didn't know if I should believe her even though she seemed really easy-going about it but either way I checked to make sure "Alright, you sure?"

"Positive, besides today we're supposed to go straight past the locker rooms and right into the gym anyways. It'll be fine." Annabeth seemed like she had everything already planned out and I wasn't going to be the one to burst her bubble so I decided to just leave her alone about it.

Out of literally nowhere Annabeth sprang away from where she stood and positioned herself right beside me. She caught me by such surprise that I almost jumped until I saw her fierce expression and immediately wondered what was wrong. I didn't have to wonder long because not two seconds later, Luke and his crowd from this morning stood where Annabeth had been three seconds ago.

Luke held a good poker face but I could still see the frustration in his eyes as he watched Annabeth. "Hey, Annie."

Annabeth's eyes were hard as she snapped "I told you no to call me that."

Luke didn't seem very fazed and turned to me to acknowledge my presence "Hello Percy,"

I stared at Luke after he offered his greeting. Now, there was two ways I could do this. I could either accept his hello maturely or I could completely ignore it. Now I didn't like this guy at all but I felt like I had to at least respond somehow so he knew that he hadn't scared me off. So I went with the neutral approach and just jerked my head in hello. Pretty good, eh? Not.

"So what's up Annabeth?" Luke asked in a completely different manner than he had done with me earlier this morning. I stared at him, astonished. He actually sounded …nice. Niceness or not, there was something in his voice that made me wonder what sort of relationship those two had, he sounded a bit regretful and desiring. Considering how icy Annabeth's voice sounded when he came, I doubted they were friends even though Luke approached her as if they were old pals. So what else could they be?

Annabeth rolled her eyes "None of your business, we have to go." Annabeth took my wrist and led me away from them and then she quickly weaved her way through the crowd with me trailing behind as many curious eyes followed us. I really had no clue where we were going but I didn't really mind.

Suddenly she stopped and stood next to a guy I didn't know "Percy this is Jason, Piper's boyfriend. Jason this is Percy."

"Hey man." Jason said.

"Hi." I replied.

"Jason's also another level five." Annabeth explained.

I was starting to doubt whether Chiron had actually calculated how many people are really level fives because that makes three people who are level fives and I only know about eight people. Either way I was impressed because if the staff were level fives and us teens had more energy; wouldn't that make level five students more powerful? I'm pretty sure it would.

"That's cool, what's your ability?" I asked.

Jason shrugged like it was no big deal, and I knew it was probably going to be a big deal "I can levitate ten feet off the ground." Like I said, it was a big deal.

"Can you fly?" I questioned eagerly.

Annabeth laughed "He wishes!"

Jason grumbled "Shut up Annabeth." And then he turned to me "But no I can't really fly, levitating and flying are two different things. Although I could move my body in the air and move about a yard in the air, I can't travel long distances or I'll get tired and fall out of the sky. It happened once, and it hurts."

"Yeah, that was pretty funny." Annabeth commented to Jason's annoyance.

Suddenly the crowd started to rush forward and I knew that the doors had opened. People began jostling each other to be first while the three of us just hung back and waited it out until we could actually walk through the doors without getting absolutely crushed by the impatient teenagers.

"Okay, I gotta go." Annabeth said and she walked right through the locker room. Yeah she got some pretty funny looks and other looks I wanted to punch off the faces of the other guys but she ignored them all and walked straight to the door on the end of the hall and disappeared behind it, leaving Jason and I in the dust. I guess I didn't blame her for wanting to leave the room so fast.

Jason and I just took our time walking to the tiny door that five guys were trying to squeeze through at the same time. "So what's your level?" asked Jason.

I gave him an 'are you kidding me look' and replied "I don't have an ability."

"Oh so you're a late bloomer? No wonder, sorry." Jason said.

"No wonder what?" I questioned.

Jason shrugged "It'll explain why Annabeth was with you, the only time she ever walked a guy here was when she was with Luke."

I practically felt my eyes bulge out of my head as he said that. I don't know why I cared but I did. Luke was everything Annabeth was not. How can a girl like her ever be with a guy like him? I found it hard to believe but I doubted Jason would lie about something like that, he had no reason to.

"Annabeth dated Luke?" I verified even though I knew I was asking partly because I hoped I had heard wrong and partly because I was still in shock of this revelation.

Jason nodded grimly. "Yep, I know it shocked all of us but to his credit he was a much cooler guy back then. After they broke up he changed a lot."

"What happened?" I eagerly asked.

He just shrugged "No one really knows. Neither one of them told anybody, well I'm sure Annabeth told Thalia or Piper or Hazel but I asked all of them and no one would tell me anything. Not even Piper. And of course no one asked Luke, he went on a psychotic rampage afterwards but eventually everything cooled down. They hardly talk now but everyone knows Luke still likes, hell, maybe he even loves her, either way he didn't let go and any guy that tried to get near her had a freaking death wish. Luke made sure of it. She tries to talk to other guys too but every time she does, the next day the kid comes in with a black eye and missing teeth. Annabeth feels blamed for it because everyone knows Luke did it. Annabeth hasn't had a boyfriend for one and a half years. And it's all Luke's fault."

I didn't know what to say. Should I be happy that Annabeth doesn't have a boyfriend? Should I feel bad that Luke is keeping her from moving on? My thoughts were pretty much all over the place and I couldn't really understand them. But one thought stood out from the rest and kept repeating itself over and over again until I finally voiced it "That's so messed up. Why doesn't anyone make Luke leave her alone?"

Jason shook his head "We've tried but Luke's a level five and we can't touch him, you know his ability right?" After I nodded he continued. "See, that's the problem. He's invincible. We all love Annabeth and want her to be happy but we can't just throw ourselves in a fight we know we're going to lose."

I could see where Jason was coming from and it made me even madder when I realized that what he's saying is very true. It would be stupid to try to stop Luke when he has so much power over everyone.

"Man, that sucks." I mumbled as we finally shuffled our way through the door that was now pretty much empty. We followed a wide hallway to where everyone else was standing.

"Tell me about it." He agreed.

We walked in silence for a bit until we came up to where everyone was. We all stood in front of one massive steel door that was sealed shut. Everyone was chatting cheerfully but I didn't have the heart to advance into a conversation while thoughts of what was about to happen and what Annabeth had warned me about popped into my head.

A screeching sound came from the door and I saw it being raised to display the gym in front of us. To say it was big was definitely an understatement, this thing was freaking enormous. Two sets of bleachers were on either side of the room and a twenty foot high podium about three yards wide stood at the head of the gym with two teachers standing on top of it. I recognized one as Chiron even though I was about fifty feet away, and the other figure next to him was a man about twice his size and looked like he could rip a door off its hinges, which he did. I recognized him as the man that stopped Luke from confronting me this morning. The rest of the space was empty and dedicated to the basketball court

Chiron had a blow-horn and he held it up so that he was audible even from where I stood. "Everyone but the following students may enter. Eddy Sheeran, Blake Swift, and Percy Jackson please stay put."

"Good luck," Jason whispered as he and everyone else walked out.

I caught sight of Grover and Nico and they each sent me comforting looks. I saw everyone else settle onto the bleachers and then they all faced me and the other two kids standing awkwardly to the side. It was quite intimidating to have so many people be staring at me as if I just murdered someone, like they were just waiting for me to admit it as they scrutinized my every move.

The large steel doors began to close again and I suddenly wondered if they were going to turn off the lights and turn this into some creepy horror story where victims are suddenly killed or knocked out and I end up waking up in a serial killers basement.

God, I'm so paranoid.

About ten minutes later, I was still very much alive and the lights were still on. I was leaning against the far wall while Blake was lying on his back and Eddy was pacing. Then the ever so relieving sound of the door opening echoed throughout the hallway.

"Eddy Sheeran, Blake Swift, and Percy Jackson you may now enter." Chiron said.

_Well here goes nothing_ I thought as I stepped into the gym.


End file.
